Probing the catalytically essential residues of the alpha-L-fucosidase from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Sulfolobus solfataricus

A study is conducted where site-directed mutagenesis several residues of Sulfolobus solfataricus (Ssalpha-fuc) that, from sequence alignments of GH29 and from the 3D structure of Tmalpha-fuc, are predicted to be involved in catalysis. The result suggests that in glycosidase family 29 alpha-fucosidases promoting the retaining mechanism with slightly different catalytic machineries coexist.